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Chapter 19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Caste, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Caste, Race, and Social Division in the U.S.
Caste as a Global Problem
How Caste Sustains Itself
The Costs of Caste
Summary
Analysis
Caste systems center the dominant caste as “the sun around which all other castes revolve.” Because the dominant caste is constantly surrounded by images of its beauty and messages of its inherent superiority, the dominant caste is unable to see the world from the perspective of others—or to resist the “narcissistic isolation” from the lower classes that their superiority provides.
Everyone in a caste system is trained to envy the dominant caste. And the dominant caste in any given caste system is reassured constantly of their supremacy—and, in some cases, their divine right to their role in society. So, caste causes its dominant members to become narcissistic, or self-obsessed.
Themes
The dominant caste is “caught in an illusion” of superiority and sovereignty—and history has shown that those at the upper echelons of society will do terrible things to maintain their station. Fascism and authoritarianism, Wilkerson suggests, are byproducts of “group narcissism,” a phenomenon that distorts and inflates a group’s sense of worth and inherent righteousness. And the wrong kind of leader can goad a narcissistic group into doing unspeakable things to maintain that sense of specialness.
The dominant caste, afflicted by the narcissism that societal messaging about their own supremacy causes, can be convinced to do terrible things in order to maintain the “illusion” of their superiority. This is one of the ways caste sustains itself: by seducing and entrapping dominant-caste people who get used to power, glory, and the feeling of being extraordinary.
Themes
The narcissism of the dominant caste is so prevailing and so profound that its members become obsessed with finding ways to rank nearly everyone they meet in the caste system by asking probing questions about their familial origins and ethnic heritage. The desire to constantly rank others—and to take comfort in being reminded of their superior station—is one of caste’s most insidious mechanisms.
Caste sustains itself by encouraging dominant-caste people to be obsessed with the caste rankings of others. Narcissism is a bolstering force, but it’s also a destabilizing one, because having power and glory means those things are precious and can be taken away. So, obsessing over the caste rankings of others becomes a way for narcissistic dominant-caste people to assess themselves against others in order to reassure themselves of their superiority.
Themes
